Discussion

Bluejacket (DC, Nationals Park area)

We waited almost a week after the official 10/29/13 opening to let the place settle a bit but perhaps should have delayed our visit a little longer. The beers are definitely the reason to visit - 20 of their own on draft plus 5 casks. We tried about half, and although I'm partial to the IPAs (Bird of Prey, Imposter, Duel) everything was tasty & quite quaffable. Beer samples (2oz "tastes") are served in flute-style wine glasses which I found an annoying shape & difficult to sip beer out of without your nose wedged half in the glass. Bluejacket is actually one large, attractive, high ceiling space in an old factory near Nationals Park with the bar adjoining the restaurant, called the Arsenal. We had to wait 15 minutes for our reservation but this was a sign of things to come - service and the food were very, very slow. The overly ambitious menu did not really do the beer justice, simple gastropub fare would have been preferable. The menu had many similarities to their sister restaurant Birch & Barley (wolf fish, pork loin/chop, brussel sprouts, etc). Hopefully the restaurant side will eventually find its footing, meanwhile go for the beers.